Old, But Not That Old [Motough]

12. louisiana [derek]

"Come on," she says as she unzips her black pencil skirt and lets it fall to the floor. My eyes widen. What the hell is happening?

"I know you want to." She steps closer to me and puts her hand on my chest. My heart is racing and I don't know what to do. The few beers I had are severely impacting my sense of judgment and I know I should get out of this situation right away, but something is keeping me from moving.

Suddenly it happens. She kisses me. And I let it happen for a minute, cause yeah, it feels good. But when she basically slams me against my dresser and her hands fumble with the buttons of my shirt, I realize what's happening. And despite the fact that a very attractive girl is kissing me, I can't help but think of someone else.

I push Cheryl off of me and shake my head. "Listen, I'm kinda... with someone."

She looks at me, with a half-blank look, trying to process what I just said.

"But Bethany told me you guys aren't together so... Is it someone else?"

Bethany. Hearing her name makes my stomach ache.

"Yeah... Let's just get you changed and back downstairs," I say, leaning down to pick up the shirt I had offered her. I hand it to her and watch her smirk fade.

"Whatever," she mutters, grabbing the shirt from me and beginning to get dressed.

I let out a deep breath and run my hands through my hair. My mind flashes back to Bethany and I anxiously wait for Cheryl to be fully clothed so we can go back downstairs where I can see Beth.

When Cheryl has her clothes on, I lead her downstairs where I quickly glance around and look for Bethany.

I see Mark, Janel, Val, and the rest of the Dancing With the Stars fam, but no Beth.

Mark makes eye contact with me but looks down quickly. I walk over. "Hey, have you seen Bethany?"

"She left, dude," Mark says with a dismayed look on his face. She left?

"Why?" I ask, hoping everything is okay.

Mark looks at me, raising his eyebrows. "Why would you hurt her?"

He says it more as a statement than a question and I look at him, confused. "What?"

Mark simply shakes his head and then utters the words that form a lump in my throat. "You accidentally called her, I guess... when you were with Cheryl."

My eyes widen. "What did she hear?"

"Oh I heard it too," Mark says. He laughs uncomfortably, but clearly disappointed with me. "She took off her shirt... asked if you remembered all the 'fun you used to have'... and then you two kissed. Luckily the call ended there cause I don't know if Beth would've been able to handle any more. She was crushed, man."

My hands shoot up to my head. I close my eyes and sigh as I run my fingers through my hair. "So she didn't hear me stop her? Cheryl, I mean?" I'm frazzled and confused and angry and upset that I upset Beth and let Cheryl kiss me.

Mark shrugs. "No... It sounded pretty bad, dude."

"Shit," I mutter, pacing back and forth slightly. "I did stop her. When she kissed me, all I could think about was Beth."

"Well you gotta fix this," Mark says. "Because she thinks you cheated on her."

"Damnit." Of course this would happen to me. Poor Beth. My heart aches knowing I hurt her. "I'm gonna call her," I tell Mark before running off.

"Good luck!" He yells behind me.

I frantically dial Bethany's number as I step onto my balcony. The cool midnight air hits me in the face. Chills run through my entire body as my phone dials.